He Whenua Taurikura hui, 31 October 2022

Opening remarks - Session Two

Cordis Hotel, Auckland, 31 October 2022

Tēnā koutou katoa.

Ko Rebecca Kitteridge ahau.

Ko te Tumu Whakarae mō Te Pā Whakamarumaru ahau.

Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.

I would like to acknowledge the shuhada from the terrorist attacks on 15 March 2019, their families, the injured and the survivors. Your lived experience underscores the importance of this hui and this kōrero. I also acknowledge all other communities – many of whom are represented in this room, who have suffered attacks or trauma caused by violent extremism.

In my remarks today, I will first outline briefly the violent extremism threat environment as we currently see it in Aotearoa New Zealand. And I will conclude by showing how the public can help support our mission in keeping the country safe.

As I am sure you know, the National Terrorism Threat Level remains at Medium, meaning an attack is feasible and could well occur. We have been at Medium since April 2019. It should be uncomfortable to us that the level has been this high for so long.

We should all be thinking as a society about what we can do to lower it.

The current threat environment

Up until the last six months or so, NZSIS’s counter-terrorism investigations were split fairly equally between Identity Motivated Violent Extremists, particularly White Identity-Motivated Violent Extremists, and Faith Motivated Violent Extremists. More recently we have noticed a concerning increase in violent anti-authority rhetoric associated with Politically Motivated Violent Extremists. The emergence of PMVE has meant our investigative caseload is now split fairly evenly between those three ideologies.

The sudden rise of anti-authority violent extremism illustrates a concerning development. Violent extremist movements used to be relatively straightforward to define, but now the boundaries are often unclear. Today’s extremists are likely to go online to explore a range of ideologies, groups and beliefs. They essentially “cherry pick” from a smorgasbord of extremist views that may resonate with them.

The challenge of detection

This leads to the challenge of detection.

NZSIS's mandate requires us to focus our efforts on detecting violent extremists, and in particular, those with intent and capability to conduct a terrorist attack. It is not always easy to determine who has actual intent and capability among the morass of hateful content online. Our investigators are trained to look for indicators that distinguish those who only spew violent rhetoric - however objectionable - from those who might actually cause violent harm in the real world. Our focus is on the latter.

As with the two terrorist attacks that New Zealand has experienced in recent years, we expect that if another terrorist event were to occur here, it would not be directed and planned by a terrorist group meeting in person. An attack is much more likely be carried out by a lone person, recruited or inspired on-line and using easily obtainable weapons - like a car, a knife, or a gun - without warning.

Knowing the signs

The individuals we are trying to identify in all our investigations are very security-aware; they take a lot of care not to draw attention to themselves and to be undetectable. Encryption, virtual private networks and online anonymity make it extraordinarily difficult to determine identities, or even to know which country individuals are posting from. Given these challenges, knowing the behavioural signs that indicate someone is escalating to violence in the real world can be crucial. These are signs that family members, friends, co-workers, or schools, might observe.

That’s why I am so pleased to be able to share with you at this hui a new resource:

We have hundreds of copies on the resource table outside this room - please take one. It is also available on the NZSIS website. The purpose of publishing the guide for identifying signs of violent extremism is so that the community can help us detect those who might be aspiring to commit an attack. I want to thank those of you who reviewed the guide and gave us feedback and suggestions.

I have described to you the threat posed by a security-conscious lone violent extremist. While we work hard at NZSIS to detect violent extremists, we do not carry out mass surveillance. We gather and assess lead information from many sources, including the public. Everyone can play an important role in national security, just as the public play a huge role in helping police to fight crime. Recognising a potential warning sign and then alerting NZSIS could be the vital piece in the puzzle that ultimately saves lives.

So it is really important that NZSIS or the Police are contacted. Either will do - there is no wrong door. And this kind of information will always be treated in complete confidence and be directed to the right place. If there is an imminent threat to life Police will act straight away. Even quite minor information may help NZSIS's intelligence professionals to join vital dots. It may be the crucial lead that ends up saving innocent lives. It is possible that the information, once investigated further, may turn out not to indicate any real security concern - which is actually a good outcome, and no harm has been done. Everybody can sleep at night.

None of this is theoretical for me - or, I know, for others in this room. None of us want to live through another terrorist attack. If all of our communities are alert to violent extremist behaviours, if they know the signs and know how to report them if they see them, we will have a much better chance of keeping Aotearoa safe.

I am really pleased to be part of this important discussion today and look forward to talking about the signs of violent extremism with you today and beyond.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou.